Wallabies coming to Hampstead Heath

WITH their long furry ears and lopsided grins, wall­abies have long been much-admired in zoos and the private collections of animal en­thusiasts.

And now six are to be brought to Golders Hill Park.

The wallabies – all female and known as red-necked or Bennett’s – will move into their new home at the park in the northern reaches of Hampstead Heath in early summer.

It will not be the first time the park has had wallabies, originally from Australia and New Zealand. In 2013, there were a number of sightings of a wallaby in Highgate Cemetery and Hampstead Heath.

The New Journal tracked the wallaby down to a playground on a housing estate in Dartmouth Park – and the an­imal, nicknamed Jean, was captured by the RSPCA. The wallabies, related to kangaroos, will be kept in a pen at the park, where work has been carried out to make sure they cannot roam too far.

Heath superintendent Bob Warnock said: “The wallabies, which will have been previously cared for by Woburn Safari Park, are a UK-naturalised species which live happily and independently with other wildlife. They will be moving into the donkey enclos­ure, which the two species will share.”